Volunteers conduct Calgary homeless count

Over one hundred volunteers met at City Hall Wednesday to conduct the annual homeless count.

The count gives agencies a snapshot of the current homeless situation.

The numbers could be telling this year given the economic downturn, but not in the way you might think.

President and CEO of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, Diana Krecsy thinks we’ll see a drop in the numbers this year.

“We’re going to see a slight reduction in the homeless count because of the economic downturn. The people who were the working poor don’t have those jobs now so they’ve moved to those cities where they can get jobs, but they move into shelters in those other provinces.”

“Two years ago we found out that we have actually reduced homelessness in this province by 17 per cent and we know that because we looked at all the areas. It’s not just moving people between cities. So now we want to know, where are we at today. We’re really hoping to see it down. And if it’s not we want to know where it’s up, what’s the trending, what’s the population, what’s happening and how do we get on top of that right now.”

She says the count allows the foundation to look at the programs that are working, and those that aren’t and then make changes where needed.

Preliminary results of the count will be released next month, with full details in spring.